My friend, Yen-Ju from Taiwan, used to stop me after almost every MBA class to ask for a definition of American buzzword phrases. What does “roll the dice” mean? How about “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks?” Yen-Ju had so many questions, we turned it in to a Words of the Week segment in our International Business Association newsletter. We figured...

As you’re starting your MBA internships and full time positions, you probably have a lot of people telling you to network. One of the best ways to network is through causal conversation or small talk. Here’s how: 1. Ask an open ended question. 2. Listen for a point that you find interesting. 3. Ask a followup question on that topic. You can use these 3 steps to build...

My friend, Yen-Ju from Taiwan, used to stop me after almost every MBA class to ask for a definition of American buzzword phrases. What does “roll the dice” mean? How about “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks?” Yen-Ju had so many questions, we turned it in to a Words of the Week segment in our International Business Association newsletter. We figured if she was wondering, other international...

As you’re starting your MBA internships and full time positions, you probably have a lot of people telling you to network. One of the best ways to network is through causal conversation or small talk. Here’s how: 1. Ask an open ended question. 2. Listen for a point that you find interesting. 3. Ask a followup question on that topic. You can use these 3 steps to build your network and help you turn internships into...

I love this image of the "confused businsswoman." I bought it at iStockphoto.com. MSN Careers showcased a "work lingo" quiz today, and I thought it would be fun to use it for Words of the Week. We’ve covered most of these since MBA in the USA went live in 2008. I must admit, I missed one of answers, but I disagree with the author on the definition! Can you guess which one I missed? Let me know how you do in...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvdmerwe/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Augmented reality is the process of overlaying the virtual world on top of the physical world through technology. Brandon demonstrated it for me the other night using an iPhone application that identified our location and overlaid a map to local restaurants on top of the view we saw through the phone, much like the image above. I hereby predict that this term will evolve and...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Net/Net is an updated version of the bottom line, meaning the end result. Typically, it comes at the end of a statement someone is adding to a discussion. For example, if an MBA is walking their boss through their opinion on a proposal, they might conclude with, “Net/net we’ll make $1 million with this $10,000 investment. I recommend we do it.”...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bretarnett/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 To take a stab at means to attempt to complete a task without significant guidance. You’ll hear this term most often in team situations. A team leader delegating a task might say, “Why don’t you take a stab at it? If you have questions, I’ll be here to help.” This phrase also works if you want to volunteer for something by saying,...